Paint previously painted decking

ceekay74

Hi, I have a painted deck out my back garden that looks a bit tattered now. I bought the house with the decking already there so don't know much about its history.

Is there a paint I can apply to the decking after cleaning the dirt/moss off it? I'm pretty certain its paint and not stain.

I have tried searching online, but all the answers I've come across involve stripping the paint off and starting again! (Not an option).

Any suggestions?

jack of all

Your best bet is to clean the deck as well as you can first, to see what the condition and colour of the original timber is and see where you might go from there. I let my own deck get pretty bad after a year or so of neglect but managed to bring it back to a healthy state- with plenty of elbow grease! First step is to scrub it- I used a strong solution of Jeyes fluid and hot water, scrubbing the deck and working it well in. Leave to sit for an hour or so before rinsing of with clean water. You could try powerwashing- certainly a lot easier but I found the best way was to use a deck brush and go at it by hand. When dry I went at the bad, discoloured patches with a wire brush- sounds harsh and it brought up the treated yellow pine very well. For ongoing maintenance I wash down a couple of times a year with a strong bleach solution- cheap and easy. You can get proprietary deck stains but once you start with a colour you have to stick with it, reapplying each year (probably) and eventually the colour darkens and the wood no longer looks like wood in time. If your deck is particularly bad, even after cleaning you may have to continue with the stain option.

ceekay74

Thanks for all that info, very helpful.

jack of all wrote: »

You can get proprietary deck stains but once you start with a colour you have to stick with it, reapplying each year (probably) and eventually the colour darkens and the wood no longer looks like wood in time. If your deck is particularly bad, even after cleaning you may have to continue with the stain option.

Is it okay to put a stain on top of paint? - Theres no way I'll get all the paint off.

jack of all

I wouldn't think so- paint is a surface coating that sits on top of substrate, stain is a colouring agent designed to soak into the pores of the wood to give an even colour or shade. A previously painted surface will not take a stain successfully as the wood grain and pores have been sealed. A you sure a "paint" type coating was applied. Either way you'll need to clean the deck thoroughly first, once that's done why not put up a picture- it might help with finding the best solution.